JIM MARTIN

  Jim Martin is a Santa Barbara native who began sculpting in 1988. Jim worked almost exclusively with stone for six years, completing two apprenticeships with well known stone sculptors. The benefit of their Italian training would influence Martin's own technique and work for years to come. By 1994 both steel and stainless steel were often paired with Martin's precise stone work and he finished his first composition for the wall, departing the round and making way for signature work to come.

 

  ''Modern sculpture and ancient objects share common qualities'' says Martin. Holding a functional item, modeled by use and time, bearing scant evidence of its original purpose, or passing over a suspension bridge and into the high rises of a city center, we encounter these very qualities. The contemplative balance of the primitive with the industrial, the past and the present, is what Martin seeks to interject into his work, resulting in iconographic and minimalist sculptural forms.

 

  Jim has shown his work extensively over the past decade. He has participated in juried shows across the country where his work receives awards regularly. Jim is also represented by select fine art galleries, and was invited to participate in a museum show in 2005. His sculpture is included in private collections throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe.